


In Which Howl and Sophie Go On a Date and There Is a Disagreement

by bobblemonkey2



Category: Howl Series - Diana Wynne Jones, Howl no Ugoku Shiro | Howl's Moving Castle, Howl's Moving Castle - All Media Types
Genre: Cute, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Lemon, One Shot, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Wales, date, very sappy at the end but I love it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:48:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26147434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bobblemonkey2/pseuds/bobblemonkey2
Summary: Howl takes Sophie to a Bonfire Night celebration, but things turn sour when they bump into Megan.
Relationships: Megan Parry & Howl Pendragon, Sophie Hatter/Howl Pendragon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 103





	In Which Howl and Sophie Go On a Date and There Is a Disagreement

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing! All characters belong to the Lord and Saviour Diana Wynne Jones.

The rain in Market Chipping that day had put Sophie in a foul mood, so when she returned home from the flower shop that evening all she could think about was curling up under her blankets and going straight to sleep. Fanny and Mr Smith were out thankfully, and Lettie had already moved to Kingsbury to start her apprenticeship with Suliman, meaning she had the house to herself to wallow around in peace. Or so she thought.

‘My word Cariad you look soaked through,’ Howl stood up as Sophie entered the mansion’s kitchen.

‘Howl! What are you doing here?’ She snapped back, startled.

‘I thought I’d come and cheer you up, especially given you’re here all by yourself,’ he smirked walking towards her. He was about to kiss her on the cheek when Sophie callously batted away his affections.

‘You cad! Anyway I’m in no mood for this, I plan to go straight to bed,’ she tucked a piece of red-gold hair behind her ear which had come loose during Howl’s attempt to woo her.

‘An even better idea!’ He said coyly, which was met with a disapproving look from his angry lover. ‘I actually came because I hoped you’d come out with me this evening, to Wales,’ he mumbled.

‘Not to see your sister? Howl if you ever think I’m going willingly into a room with that woman again you’ve got an-‘ 

‘Not to see Megan no - but I’m glad to see you’re warming to her,’ he chuckled. ‘You see, it’s Bonfire Night over there and I thought you’d enjoy the festivities, since you’re so fiery already.’

‘Bonfire night?’ Sophie cocked her head, intrigued to hear more about Howl’s strange homeland.

‘It’s a firework festival to commemorate the time a chap called Guy Fawkes tried to kill the king a few hundred years ago,’ he explained.

‘Why would anyone celebrate attempted murder?’ Sophie cut in confused.

‘Because,’ he pondered for a moment realising the meaning behind the holiday was rather odd, ‘because it’s fun.’

‘Doesn’t sound very fun to me,’ she started unpacking her basket which contained a few foodstuffs she’d planned on using for dinner, though something told her Howl wasn’t going to drop this.

‘It is, cariad!’ He implored. ‘There’s fireworks and sparklers and hot chocolate and alcohol - you’ll love it!’ 

‘Well I don’t know what sparklers are but hot chocolate does sound tasty,’ she admitted beginning to come around to the idea. ‘Fine!’

‘Really? Giving in just like that?’ Howl hadn’t expected it to be this easy.

‘Yes, but only on the condition that you buy me a hot chocolate.’

————

Just as expected, it was raining in Wales too - God how Sophie hated the rain. Luckily, along with the outfit change to something more Welsh, Howl managed to conjure a rather large umbrella which shielded them from the brunt of the weather. 

‘That’s my old rugby club! And this is where I used to secretly smoke cigarettes after school!’ Howl pointed out more nostalgic locations as they made their way to the bonfire. Sophie enjoyed seeing him so childishly excited - it was much more endearing than the heart-eating wizard trope he had held when they first met. ‘This is where I had my first kiss,’ he said pointing to a bench on the side of the road. ‘How about we recreate the moment?’ Howl smirked.

Sophie jabbed him in the side but happily leaned up to kiss him, after all he was behaving like quite the gentleman on this date and she was feeling very romantic despite the rain. Their lips were on each other’s for only a few seconds before they were rudely interrupted.

‘Howell? Is that you?’ 

Oh no, they both seemed to say without words.

‘Megan! Gareth! So good to see you both! Anyway we best be off the fireworks must be starting soon,’ he placed an arm around Sophie and squeezed her shoulder in apology for what was about to happen.

‘Hang on Howell, aren’t you going to introduce us to your umm,’ she gave a forced smile with a hint of disapproval, ‘friend?’

‘This is Sophie,’ he patted her on the behind signalling that it was her turn to speak.

‘Lovely to meet you,’ Sophie stuck out a hand, not quite sure if this was the way to greet someone in Wales - from the way Megan sneered when taking it, it would seem not. 

‘So, how old are you?’ Megan asked.

‘Megan do you have to be so rude?’ Howl retorted.

‘I’m sorry Howell, it’s just that she doesn’t look a day over 18 and you’re no spring chicken yourself!’

‘I’m 19, actually.’ Sophie huffed. No matter how good these fireworks were supposed to be, she wished she’d just gone to bed like she’d planned in the first place.

‘Snatched straight from the cradle then!’ Megan laughed to Gareth who seemed less than impressed. ‘Well I hope it works out with this one. Enjoy the fireworks Howell!’

———

While the firework show was certainly impressive and the hot chocolate was abundant with cream and marshmallows, nothing could quite melt away the sourness between Howl and Sophie following their sisterly encounter. Howl had tried to fill the awkwardness with mutterings about Wales and the history behind Bonfire Night, but Sophie had little to say. What did Megan mean by ‘this one’? And was she really too young for Howl? After the firework show had ended they wandered into a local pub for what Howl called a ‘pint’.

‘It’s so bitter,’ Sophie said in disgust as she took a sip of the EPA. ‘And what is this foam on top?’

‘That’s the head, every good pint should have at least half an inch of head - it’s a rule I live by,’ Howl explained as he glugged his own.

‘I didn’t realise you lived by any rules,’ Sophie rolled her eyes. An awkward silence fell between them as they realised something needed to be discussed.

‘Look, cariad, about earlier...’ Howl trailed off. ‘I’m sorry for what my sister said - she’s an awful hag sometimes so it’s best not to listen to her.’

‘Mmhmm,’ Sophie continued to sip her pint despite its unwelcome taste.

‘I sense you’re mad,’ he said hesitantly.

‘Hmmm...’ she weighed up her next move. ‘I just wondered how many other women you’ve done this whole thing with.’

‘Well, urr,’ he mumbled scratching his head in order to do something with his hands. ‘You know I was a scandalous womaniser back before you.’

‘Yes, but I’m just curious about the specifics.’

‘Specifics?’ Howl replied nervously.

‘How many, exactly - I want a number, Howl.’

‘Oh umm,’ he continued his nervous drinking followed by head scratching as he tried to put off answering for as long as possible. ‘I suppose, maybe a hundred or so?’

‘A HUNDRED WOMEN?’ Curious pub-goers couldn’t help but turn their attention towards to squabbling couple, obviously a welcome bit of liveliness to their usual weekday night outings.

‘Lower your voice,’ Howl tried.

‘ONE HUNDRED!’ She lowered it a little, but not enough to turn prying eyes and ears away from their conversation. ‘I guess I make it one hundred and one.’ She grabbed her bag and stormed off, with Howl swiftly following into the rain - with all the commotion they had forgotten their umbrella.

‘Cariad just wait a minute,’ Howl called out as he attempted to catch up with Sophie, who was remarkably light on her feet when she wasn’t being weighed down by traditional Ingarian garments.

‘Why don’t you go bother one of the hundreds of women you’ve been with instead of me!’ She stomped through the rain, getting wetter with every step.

‘Sophie for God’s sake!’ He had almost caught up with her at this point. ‘At least get out of the rain, it’s pouring!’ He grabbed her arm before pulling her into a bus shelter, which, despite Sophie’s protests, was a better option than catching hypothermia in the rain. ‘Please, don’t pay too much attention to the numbers.’

‘How can I not, Howl? Especially after what your sister said! I’m just another conquest to you aren’t I?’ She huffed, turning her back to him.

‘You really think that?’ He said, hurt. Sophie rolled her eyes, feeling only slightly bad. ‘Cariad, you held my heart in your hands - don’t you think that makes what we have different from all those other women?’

‘Those hundred other women.’ She interjected.

‘Sod the hundred other women! I want you, you impossible woman!’ He reached out a hand to hers and to his surprise she didn’t bat it away. ‘For someone who worked so hard to save my heart you really are trying to smash it into a thousand pieces right now.’

Sophie turned to face him and gripped his hand a little tighter. ‘I’m sorry,’ she gave in, unable to withstand the power of his doe eyes, which he was trying hard to make look especially wistful. ‘I let Megan get to me.’

‘That’s exactly what she wants,’ he pulled her in so there was no space between them. ‘You should know you mean more to me than all of those other women combined,’ he tucked a piece of red-gold hair behind her ear, before leaning into her lips.

‘Howl,’ she stopped him. ‘Can we just agree on one thing?’

‘Of course, cariad.’

‘Let’s never visit your sister,’ she chuckled.

‘Absolutely,’ he laughed before resuming their kiss.


End file.
